6gb ipod- $240
Griffin FM transmitter- $20
These prices are with my discount, but regardless this is a much cheaper alternative to head unit replacement (which I didn't want to do because I like the clean look/nav voice). This transmitter got mixed reviews, but works very well in our cars (because of the windshield antenna IMO) Sound is great, my only minor complaint is the volume is not as high as the CD volume, but it's great not having to mess with cd's. It's mounted using a phone clip, which was in the car when I got it- so I decided to make some use of it. Oh yeah-- and no wires

All questions/comments welcome!

Here's some pics:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/IM001300.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/IM001302.jpg

 

I have an ipod too and wanted to do a setup in our cars.

But what kind of wires you use to connect to our factory HU? where you connect them? And what you use to hold the ipod up there?

Sorry for lots of questions i just have no idea how to connect them.

Thanks in advance

 

he used a transmitter. so he just leaves it on a radio station and it picks up signals from the ipod. that's why there's no wires involved. you cant use any of the factory HU buttons to control the ipod itself..

 

Not to bash on your parade, but when you titled your post "who needs CDRs?" and then go on to explain that you are using an ipod and an FM modulator I gotta chime in. (I was a pro audio installer for 15+ years so I speak with some authority on the subject of audio).

While you solution is certainly a simple way to play MP3s in your head, there is a lot to be said about FM modulation. The fidelity just isn't there, nor is there any dynamic range. So while I applaud your idea for simplicity, and having your own tunes playing sure beats most of the garbage playing on the radio, you are certainly not getting anywhere near the sound quality from your setup as you would with a CDR playing a 320kbs MP3 track.

So getting back to your title - if you want to be the master of your domain rather than a slave to Mr. radio Dj, by all means go on and modulate, but definitely don't suggest that the CDR doesn't still have its place.

'Nuf said.

 

<------ Hardwired 20gig using blitzsafe adapter. FM modulators sound quality is

 

i was wondering what kind of Holder that is....
im about to get a Pioneer or alpine Ipod conncetion, but i dont know where i will place my Ipod yet.

 

where can i find the blizesafe you guys talked about?

 

the FM modulation way sucks...i used one and i always had static, no matter what station tuned into. after gettin' fed up with it, i got a blitzsafe-type adaptor from streetz, hooked it into the OEM stock HU (without having to take it out), and voila, my whole mp3 collection at my disposal, static-free! i highly suggest spending the $70 on the adaptor and stop throwing it away on POS modulators.

 

www.blitzsafe.com

 

depends if you mean wireless FM modulation or hardwired.. two completly different things.. The hardwired one get's plugged into the antenna port at the rear of the HU and the stock antenna is plugged in to the hardwired wire.. No chance for satic with a hardwired setup.. with a wireless? yes obviously there is a chance for static, but it's entirely different with a hardwired setup.

Basically the radio doesn't have a aux input, so to get around that, the signal is carried into the radio directly through the antenna port, and the stock antenna wire "piggy-backs" the wire carrying the aftermarket (ipod, changer) signal.

There is typically a loss in volume, but it's noticible when the volume is cranked up, doesn't seem as loud. It's not like you can't hear the radio, you are able to tell the difference between the radio volume and the aftermarket volume, but only when directly comparing the two, it's not like some passenger in your car will ask " what's wrong with your radio? seems quiet?".

 

Thanks for all of your comments-
I plan on getting the blitsafe later, but funds are limited right now. Like I said, I'm pretty happy with the sound quality, just wishing for more volume, but I can deal with that for now. I have the iPod eq on the "trebble booster" and that seemed to alleviate some of the muddyness of playing it through the radio.

 

Wireless FM mod and hardwired FM mod both sound like
Anytime you locally transmit a low powered radio signal, it always leaves way too much room for static and noise. There is now way in hell to make an FM signal sound like a direct signal. All radio signals are transmitted in analog. Why would that sound remotely close to digital?

BUT... I reckon some people just don't like digital quality sound.

 

FM modulators are a poor choice in metro areas that have a lot of FM radio stations. Here in LA, most frequencies either have a station or are adjacent to a station, so the signal is never really clean. Best reception I ever got using an FM mod was in the middle of the desert on the way to Vegas. If you can live with the signal quality you're getting, more power to you; but you may find that the Blitzsafe option isn't really much more expensive when you consider the superior sound quality. Good luck!

 

anyone know of any nice Ipod "holders"... like the one he has...
if so, how much.